Emergency Relief Coordinator pledges to fight for justice for victims of sexual violence in DR Congo

(Bukavu and New York: 7 September 2006): "I am and will remain personally committed to fighting the violence that is being perpetrated against you and other innocent civilians and to fighting the culture of impunity that has too long held sway in this country," pledged United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland today as he met with victims of sexual violence at Panzi Hospital in the eastern Congolese province of South Kivu.

Following a briefing from the hospital's chief, Dr. Denis Mukwege, Mr. Egeland met patients receiving treatment at the hospital, including a group of three women who have suffered sexual violence in the past three months. Mr. Egeland, who was much moved by the women's stories of suffering, particularly that of one woman held captive for a week and repeatedly raped, and who subsequently lost use of her hands due to being tied for the length of her captivity, promised the women, "There must be justice for the wrongs that have been done to you. Those guilty must be punished. I will take your story to the world."

Panzi Hospital, located in the provincial capital of Bukavu, was the first facility specializing in the treatment of women to open in eastern Congo, in 1999. It is unique among hospitals in the region, not just for its focus on women and its ability to undertake the major surgical interventions required by victims of sexual violence who often suffer mutilation and even paralysis, due to the violence perpetrated against them, but also because it has a mobile clinic that reaches women in rural areas who would otherwise have no access to medical care. Since its opening, it has treated more than 10,000 women, the majority of them victims of sexual violence. The hospital also treats obstetric fistulas, which too often result from improper ante-natal care in areas where women have little access to basic health care.

After his visit to the hospital, Mr. Egeland was scheduled to meet with representative of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the area. He is also expected to meet with the Vice-Governor of South Kivu, and has promised to relay his message concerning the need to end violence against civilians and fight impunity, which he has already delivered to President Joseph Kabila and other Congolese authorities.

Mr. Egeland arrived today in South Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, from the southern province of Katanga. Before leaving Katanga this morning, he met with the province's Governor, raising the issue of Conadair, the National Commission for Demobilization and Integration, which, he said, is not fulfilling its responsibilities. The United Nations is scaling up its activities to assist people in returning to their homes, but the support of the Congolese Government was also needed in order for this reintegration to succeed.

For further information, please call: Kristen Knutson, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570. OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.